Rachel Reeves rejects UK call for action.

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Prime Minister Rachel Reeves said we needed to focus on the present, not the past.

Britain “will not pay” reparations for the transatlantic slave trade, British Prime Minister Rachel Reeves told the BBC.

Her comments come as diplomatic sources told the BBC that Commonwealth government leaders were preparing to begin “meaningful talks” on the issue, which could potentially leave the UK billions of pounds in debt.

The Prime Minister said he understood why Commonwealth leaders were making the demands, but that the UK government was not committed to doing so.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who attended the summit, said he wanted to discuss current challenges, especially climate change, rather than problems of the past.

“Rather than ending up with a very long and endless discussion about reparations, we will focus on that,” he said.

Of course, slavery is an abomination to everyone. There is no question about trade and practices. But from my perspective, I think I'd rather roll up my sleeves and work on the challenges the future faces now.

“We will not pay the compensation that some countries are saying,” the prime minister told the BBC.

“I understand why they are asking for that, but that is not what this government is doing.”

At the Samoa summit, Commonwealth leaders are expected to challenge Britain and discuss ways to secure compensation for historical slavery. At its peak, Britain was the world's largest slave trader.

Downing Street insisted the issue was not on the agenda for the 56-nation Commonwealth summit.

King Charles is on a four-day visit to Samoa and will later open the official summit with a speech paying tribute to his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, and the role the Commonwealth played in her life.

The King will say that “all nations are equal in this unique and voluntary union” that is “committed to the development of free and democratic societies”, and will also address the “existential threat” of climate change and its impact on Commonwealth countries .

He will say that the Commonwealth's size and diversity, representing a third of humanity, allow it to “discuss the most difficult issues with openness and respect”, and he will also talk about the importance of recognizing and understanding the path of history. It will. It may have created a modern challenge.

Ahead of this year's summit, there are growing calls from Commonwealth leaders for Britain to apologize and make compensation for its historic role in the slave trade.

A report published last year by the University of the West Indies, with the support of International Court of Justice judge Patrick Robinson, concluded that Britain owes more than $18 trillion in reparations for slavery in 14 Caribbean countries.

Bahamas Foreign Minister Frederick Mitchell said he believed the UK could change its position, telling BBC Radio 4's Today programme: “Once you mention the topic, it may take a while for people to come around, but they will come back.”

Reparative justice for slavery can take many forms, including financial reparations, debt relief, formal apologies, educational programs, museums, economic assistance, and public health support.

When the king visited Kenya last year, he expressed his “deepest sadness and regret” over the “wrongs” of the colonial era, but did not issue an apology, which would require the consent of ministers.

Mr Mitchell told the Commonwealth gathering: “It’s a simple problem that can be done with just one sentence, one line.”

“That’s what the word apple is,” he told the BBC.

When asked how much compensation should be, he acknowledged that it was not just a matter of money, but of respect, and that the past was a mistake that needed to be corrected.

He said member states “want to start a dialogue,” but “there seems to be even a reluctance to talk.”

A UK government spokesman previously said: “Reparations are not on the agenda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting.” The government's position remains unchanged. We do not pay compensation.

“We are focused on leveraging Summit. [the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting] We discuss shared opportunities that can be leveraged across the Commonwealth, including securing further economic growth.

Downing Street's stance that reparative justice was not on the agenda, although technically correct, is understood to have angered some Caribbean ministers after it became clear the issue would be discussed at the summit.

Some non-Caribbean countries are not cool with Britain's position and want the summit to focus more on existing challenges such as climate change, which is having a negative impact on many Commonwealth countries, about half of which are small island states. .

But this weekend the three candidates hoping to be elected as the next Commonwealth secretary-general – Ghana's Shirley Botsway, Lesotho's Joshua Setipa and Gambia's Mamadou Tangara – have all made it clear they support compensatory justice.

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